


Sanctuary

by lindgrsl77



Category: The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Lan Xichen is a big brother to all, M/M, Protective Siblings, not graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-09-06 11:06:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20290429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lindgrsl77/pseuds/lindgrsl77
Summary: When Wei Wuxian was six years old, Jiang Fengmian found him on the streets of Yiling and immediately adopted him as one of his own children; much to the displeasure one Madam Yu.  With one look at the child, she could see exactly who had birthed him and knew then that the rumors of her husband’s infidelity with the wild but beautiful Cangse Sanren were more than just rumors. She could see the perfect blend of her husband and the one she used to call friend in the features of the little boy her husband had brought home.Jiang Fengmian had brought home a constant reminder that though she loved him, he did not return that love. Without her permission, he had brought home proof of his infidelity and expected her to treat his bastard son with the same love and respect that she had raised their own children with.It was not to be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Wangxian fic, please be gentle with me and enjoy!

When Wei Wuxian was six years old, Jiang Fengmian found him on the streets of Yiling and immediately adopted him as one of his own children; much to the displeasure one Madam Yu. With one look at the child, she could see exactly who had birthed him and knew then that the rumors of her husband’s infidelity with the wild but beautiful Cangse Sanren were more than just rumors. She could see the perfect blend of her husband and the one she used to call friend in the features of the little boy her husband had brought home. 

Jiang Fengmian had brought home a constant reminder that though she loved him, he did not return that love. Without her permission, he had brought home proof of his infidelity and expected her to treat his bastard son with the same love and respect that she had raised their own children with.

It was not to be.

Ever seen since she had laid eyes on the child, Wei Ying, she had hated him with an intensity that was unexpected, even for her. In her heart, she knew that the only feelings she would have for the illegitimate child were those of hate and jealousy made worse each time Jiang Fengmian favored him over the children he had fathered with her.

And though she knew who his real father was, everyone else believed Wei Ying to be the son of Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze; even those who gossiped about the relationship between Cangse Sanren and Jiang Fengmian believed their sect leader to be above such things as to bed a woman he was not married to. After all, who would risk the anger of the Violet Spider?

Everyone else knew Wei Ying as the son of a servant and she would make sure he never knew or felt otherwise.

____________________________________________

Wei Wuxian would be forever grateful that Jiang Fengmian had found him and brought him back to Lotus Pier, had given him a wonderful shidi and shijie who loved and cared for him.

Even though he was the son of a servant.

That was one lesson Madam Yu had instilled in him as soon as he was taken to live with the Jiang family. He was the son of a servant, nothing more, nothing less. He was the head disciple of YunmengJiang not because he lived with the Jiang family, but because he worked hard and was intelligent to the point that even Madam Yu could not argue against the placement.

But she made sure that he knew his place in their family was as an outsider looking in. 

Whenever she felt like he was getting too comfortable with her family, she was there with her whip to remind him of his place.

The beatings with the whip started when was ten years old. Before then, it was only hateful and degrading words that would pierce his body with sharp pains of longing; the longing to truly be accepted as a part of the family he so cared for. But soon it became a regular occurrence for him to feel the sting of Zidian on his back as a reminder that he was never going to be welcomed as one of them.

The older he got, the worse his punishment became. There would be days where he would be unable to leave his bed because the lingering pain and wounds on his back kept him there. The only way he was able to persevere and continue on, was with the love and help of his shijie and shidi.

Each time he was punished with the whip, his Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli would be there with herbs, water, and wraps to nurse him back to health. The only reason this was allowed was because Madam Yu and her children had come to an understanding. They would be able to take care of Wei Wuxian’s injuries as long as Jiang Fengmian did not know about the beatings.

This wasn’t as difficult to keep a secret as one would think. After all, he was a sect leader and his duties as such kept him busy and away from his family more often than not.

So, with this fragile truce, a cautious peace was kept in Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian got stay and learn cultivation, was allowed to keep his relationships with Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli so long as he let himself be ‘reminded’ on a regular basis that his worth was less than everyone else’s.

____________________________________________

It was when he turned 16 that Wei Wuxian began to seriously think about leaving Lotus Pier. He loved his shijie and shidi with all his heart and was nothing but grateful to Jiang Fengmian for giving him a home. But his spirit was starting to break.

Wei Wuxian could always be seen with a smile on his face and a laugh in his voice, but the older he became and the harsher the punishments he received, the harder it was for him to pull up these parts of himself. He was less free with his touching others and being touched. It was difficult to not feel like he was tainting his loved ones when he been beaten for the last six years with the words of Madam Yu ringing in his ears with each crack of the whip.

“Worthless son of a servant.”

“Undeserving of our hospitality.”

“Dirty, troublesome son of a whore.”

If it went on this way, he didn’t think there would be anything good left in him.

__________________________________

“A-Li, A-Cheng...I don’t know how much longer I can live like this,” Wei Wuxian quietly confessed one night.

He was lying on his stomach on the bed in his room. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli were tending to the wounds on his back from a particularly harsh whipping from Madam Yu.

Both the brother and sister froze what they were doing after hearing these whispered words.

“A-Xian, what do you mean?” asked Yanli, tears in her eyes and sadness in her voice.

“What stupid ideas are you spouting now, idiot!” Jiang Cheng chimed in.

Neither of the siblings agreed or supported what their mother did to their brother on a regular basis, but they didn’t know what to do that would allow them to keep their family together and not break their sect apart in civil war.

So they did the best they could by spoiling and loving Wei Wuxian with everything they had to fight against the poisonous words and actions of their mother. Lately, however, they could see that it was getting harder and harder for Wei Wuxian to bounce back from the hell Madam Yu would rain down on him regularly.

“You know that if I wasn’t a cultivator, I wouldn’t have survived this long, right?” He asked, knowing this to be true. If he hadn’t had the strong constitution of a cultivator, the infections alone from open and half healed wounds on his back would have killed him years ago.

Already his back was thick with ropey scars from wounds that had not had the time to heal completely before being broken open again during the next beating. Normally, cultivators wouldn’t have the thick scars he himself carried. It was proof of the daily hell he was living under the thumb of Madam Yu.

Both Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng had resumed tending to his bloody back as they continued their conversation.

“...What were you thinking about A-Xian?” Jiang Yanli asked him.

He sighed. Wei Wuxian had thought about what he could do and the only thing he could think of was leaving and becoming a rogue cultivator. It would be hard because he would be starting out with few resources and not a lot of reputation. But it would be worth it to be free of the pain that had plagued him for half a decade. He loved his brother and sister, but they would, in the end, be better off without him in their lives. They could be happy and free of the burden of taking care of him.

“The best plan I could come up with was to become a rogue cultivator and make my way on my own,” Wei Wuxian divulged to the two most important people in his life.

“That’s the best plan you could come up with?” Jiang Cheng demanded, “I thought you were a genius!”

“Do you have a better idea A-Cheng?” their sister asked curiously.

“Of course I do. Father just informed me today that he received an invitation from the GusuLan Sect to send two disciples to study at Cloud Recesses for a year,” Jiang Cheng explained smugly. “Father said he was considering sending you and I to represent YunmengJiang sect.

“And how does that help me?” Wei Wuxian asked. “I would get to be out from under Madam Yu for a year, but it doesn’t fix my situation; I would still be coming back to Lotus Pier afterwards.”

“Stop interrupting and let me explain! Inside Cloud Recesses, there is a secret place where those from other sects can claim sanctuary. Each individual’s circumstances will be investigated and then, if they are accepted, they have a choice of becoming a part of the GusuLan sect or receiving assistance in breaking ties with their previous sect and leaving on their own with no consequences a few resources to get them started.”

“Why have I never heard of this before?” Wei Wuxian questioned his shidi. He believed him when he told him about the GusuLan sanctuary, after all, they were known for their inability to accept any injustice and were known for their strict rules to keep their disciples on the path of righteousness.

“It’s an open secret that other sects try to keep quiet about as they don’t want to be shamed by losing their disciples to another sect,” Jiang Cheng explained. “We can travel to Cloud Recesses and have you claim sanctuary after we get there.”

Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure how he felt about this plan. While he would like to be free from the pain his everyday life had become, he didn’t know if he could cope with the strict rules and punishments the GusuLan sect were so fond of. Also, “What about Jiang Fengmian and the sect? Wouldn’t it look bad if their head disciple disappeared into a different sect?” 

“A-Xian, your happiness and well-being are more important than how this might temporarily affect our sect and, more importantly, our father,” Jiang Yanli gently reassured her little brother. Truthfully, her and Jiang Cheng were slightly bitter towards their father for not noticing that all was not well within their family. This did not, however, hold a candle to the deep resentment they had against their mother for treating someone they loved so dearly in such a despicable way.

“It’s nothing we won’t recover from,” Jiang Cheng insisted. “And don’t forget, someday I’m going to be sect leader and when that happens, you can come home again, if you want to.”

Wei Wuxian was quiet as he thought about what he had just learned. “You won’t hate me for leaving to join another sect?”

“We will always love you, A-Xian. Honestly, both Jiang Cheng and I feel as though we have failed you as siblings for not being able to protect you from our mother. If this is the best way to save you, then you have our full support,” Jiang Yanli confessed.

He continued to contemplate the new path that had opened up to him. Even if he didn’t like living in Cloud Recesses, he could just follow his original path and become a rogue cultivator. It was something he could try before giving up the full support of a sect. There was nothing he could lose from claiming sanctuary in GusuLan.

“Okay, Shijie, Jiang Cheng. If you believe this is the best way, then I’ll do it.” Already, Wei Wuxian could feel like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders. Now that he had a plan, he felt like he could keep going. He could start to hope for a better future for himself where he had not allowed himself to do so before.

“A-Li, A-Cheng, you are the best siblings I could have ever wished for. I love you both so much. I’m sorry I’m not strong enough to stay here with you,” Wei Wuxian could feel tears start to gather in his eyes. Physical pain had never been a reason for him to cry, but the feelings he had for his shidi and shijie were deep and it felt like he was giving up a large piece of his heart to leave them behind.

He could feel a hand start to gently stroke his hair. “I think that you are strong for living through the pain and suffering that you have had to put up with for this long,” Jiang Yanli told him with love lacing her words.

“Hmph, idiot, you're the strongest person I know, Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng agreed with his sister.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei Wuxian makes his way to Cloud Recesses.  
_______________________________________________________

On the day they were to leave for Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian looked around his room to make sure he wasn’t leaving behind anything he couldn’t live without. Because they were going to be gone for a year, it didn’t look suspicious for him to bring most of his robes and the items that were most important to him.

  


Though he was sad to leave behind the first place he could remember calling home, he was excited to start a new chapter in his life. Saying good-bye to the good memories he had of this place, he turned and carefully made his way out to the pier to say farewell to his shijie and Uncle Jiang.

Madam Yu would not be there to see him and Jiang Cheng off. She had already given him one last ‘reminder’ two days ago to behave and not bring any shame to the Jiang sect.

Unfortunately, that was something he was already planning to do, just not in the way she might have imagined. 

  


Making his way over to his shijie, he immediately engulfed her in a hug. “Ah shijie, my shijie, I’m going to miss you!” Wei Wuxian tells her truthfully and with not a little heartbreak. Who knows when he will see her again after claiming sanctuary with Gusu?

  


Jiang Yanli wraps her arms around him in return, careful to not put any pressure on the fresh wounds on his back. “A-Xian, don’t sound so sad. We’ll see each other soon enough,” shijie sounds just as upset as he feels and nods his head. “Have a good time A-Xian. Learn all you can and be happy.” She pulls away and gives him a kiss on his forehead before moving away to give her father space to say goodbye.

  


Wei Wuxian bows to Jiang Fengmian, this may be the last time he sees his Uncle, and he wants him to know how much it means to him that he saved him and gave him a home, even through the pain and suffering he had to live through at the hands of his wife.

“Uncle Jiang, this disciple will watch over Jiang Cheng and be on his best behavior in Cloud Recesses. Thank you for everything Uncle,” Wei Wuxian says as he bows to him respectfully, the most serious anyone has seen him in a long time.

Jiang Fengmian puts a hand on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, “Now, none of that A-Xian. I know you and A-Cheng will do well in your studies. You both will make YunmengJiang sect proud.” He smiles at Wei Wuxian and for a brief moment, Wei Wuxian feels immense guilt over what he plans to do, but he knows he can’t continue living this way and just smiles back at his Uncle, hoping that his gratefulness and love can be seen in his expression.

  


____________________________________________

  
  


As they reach Gusu, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian go over the plan one more time.

“Ask for a private meeting with Lan Xichen. He is the sect leader heir and since their father has been in seclusion since before they were born; he would be the one to bring the matter to,” Jiang Cheng explains once more. “And don’t forget to be on your best behavior, Wei Wuxian!"

"I will Jiang Cheng, I don't want to screw up my chances either," Wei Wuxian reassures his brother. 

“There should be time while we are getting settled in for you to request a private meeting with Lan Xichen as he should be one of the figures present to great the foreign disciples coming to study for the year. He’s known for his kindness, so it should not be a problem for him to agree,” Jiang Cheng continues to ramble about their plan.

“Jiang Cheng, everything will be alright. Why do you seem more nervous about this than me?” Wei Wuxian teases him.

“Moron, I’m not nervous! I just want to make sure you know what to do!” Jiang Cheng scowls at his little brother.

“We’ve gone over it a million times A-Cheng, I’ll be okay!” Wei Wuxian winks back.

Sooner than they thought, they arrive at the gates of Cloud Recesses. Sure enough, Lan Xichen is the one to greet them as they dismount their swords.

“Sect heir Jiang Wanyin, head disciple Wei Wuxian, welcome to Cloud Recesses,” Lan Xichen greets them with a pleasant smile. “We are glad you both have accepted our invitation to study with us for the year.”

“Sect heir Lan Xichen,” both Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian greet formally with a bow.

“If you will follow me, I will show you where you will be staying for the duration of your stay here,” Lan Xichen said, turning to have them follow through the barrier with him into Cloud Recesses. “Both of you will get Jade tokens so you can go through the barrier when you have breaks in your studies. Please do not be irresponsible with these as it would go against the rules we live by here at GusuLan.”

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng gives Wei Wuxian a sharp look that threatens pain if this is not followed. Wei Wuxian just sticks his tongue out at him in retaliation.

“Lan Xichen, this disciple requests a private meeting with you when you are available,” Wei Wuxian asked with respect in his voice.

“I will be busy all day with the arriving disciples but I should have time after dinner. Does that work for you young master Wei?” Lan Xichen says as they continue to walk to the dorms.

“Yes, thank you,” Wei Wuxian agrees with relief. They can get the meeting over with quickly this way, thankfully.

“Then I will meet you after dinner by the dorms before our meeting. Here, we are. Settle in and we will have introductions just before dinner. I will take my leave,” and with a nod to them both, Lan Xichen makes his way back to the gates of Cloud Recesses.

Jiang Cheng looked at Wei Wuxian with a sad frown on his face. “This is it. After the meeting, you will no longer be a disciple of YunmengJiang.”

Wei Wuxian’s heart gives a loud thump at that and says, “If you say so, I will cancel the meeting and go home with you when the year is over Jiang Cheng.”

“Don’t be stupid, this is the best way to help you,” Jiang Cheng says with a scowl on his face.

“Even if I am no longer a YunmengJiang disciple, you’ll always be my brother,” Wei Wuxian puts a hand on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder.

“Damn right I will be,” Jiang Cheng agrees.

  


__________________________________________________________________________

  


As planned, Lan Xichen met Wei Wuxian by the dorms after dinner. Making their way to the office Lan Xichen had in his Hanshi, they made small talk about how Wei Wuxian was settling in at Cloud Recesses. When they finally made their way to his office, they both took a seat at the desk across from each other.

"Young master Wei, what matter did you need to discuss?" Lan Xichen inquired, his posture poised and elegant as he waits to hear Wei Wuxian's message.

Wei Wuxian bows with his head on the floor. He hears a sharp intake of breath from Lan Xichen in surprise at his actions. He can feel the burn of the half healed wounds on his back as he settles into this position; a reminder to him of how important this meeting is to his future. His heart is beating fast in his chest as he forms the words that will hopefully give him a new path in life.

"Please, let me claim sanctuary in GusuLan sect heir Lan Xichen," Wei Wuxian pleas with as much respect as he can in this situation.

"Please, raise your head young master Wei, there is no need to kowtow to me," Lan Xichen says gently.

Wei Wuxian looks up and repositions himself into the proper sitting position, with a wince of pain at the sudden movements. Something that does not go unnoticed by the elder jade twin as his eyes narrow at the quick gesture.

"As per our protocols for sanctuary to foreign disciples, I will have to document the situation. Is this feasible to you?" Lan Xichen asks.

"If that is what has to happen for me to stay then I will tell you all I can," he says with determination.

Lan Xichen pulls paper and an ink brush out from his desk. "I know this must be a difficult thing to talk about so if you need a break, let me know and we will stop for the night." He says this with a gentle smile on his face. There is no look of pity, and for that, Wei Wuxian is grateful. It will make this easier.

  


He takes a deep breath and starts from the beginning. He tells him about his birth parents and living on the streets for two years until Jiang Fengmian found him and brought him home to live with them. He tells of his shidi and shijie and how they became his siblings in heart; the hate Madam Yu rained down on him in the form of words and how that hate became physical when he reached 10 years old and had already started cultivating his own golden core.

The deal his siblings had made with their mother in order to nurse him back to health without consequences. How even now, Jiang Fengmian has no idea what has taken place inside his own home.

He finishes his story with the 'reminder' he received from Madam Yu two days ago.

Lan Xichen has listened to his story in silence, the smile on his face slowly forming into a frown as more details come out about his living conditions with the Jiangs. 

"You must be in pain; you should have started with that, Wei Wuxian," Lan Xichen says with a disapproving look at him. "Let me see your injuries."

  


Turning around so his back is to Lan Xichen, Wei Wuxian reveals the last of his secrets. He unties the sash around his robes and pulls them off so he is only left with his pants and boots. Because his back is to him, he doesn't see the look of horror on Lan Xichen’s face when he sees years of punishment in the form of thick scars criss crossing his back and the half healed wounds from his most recent session with Zidian. 

  


"Wei Wuxian, lay down on your stomach right now! How are you still standing with these wounds?” Lan Xichen says with worry in his voice. He pulls Wei Wuxian over to his bed and insists he takes off his boots and lays on his stomach. “I’m going to get a healer to take a look at your wounds to make sure they aren’t infected. Don’t move,” he says with the expectation that he will be obeyed in this.

Dazed by the sudden care from the kind elder jade, Wei Wuxian just nods his consent. Because he had become so used to having constant wounds on his back, he didn’t think anything of it anymore.The only people who had known this part of Wei Wuxian’s life and had taken care of him were his shidi and shijie. Lan Xichen’s reaction to his back was unexpected, but at the same time, just reinforced to him that his treatment was not okay and that it was a good decision to ask GusuLan for sanctuary.

A few minutes later, Lan Xichen returned with a healer in tow. As the healer took time to look over the wounds and treat them, Lan Xichen returned to the main reason Wei Wuxian had asked for this meeting.

“Young master Wei, GusuLan accepts your plea for sanctuary. As we must abide by our protocols, there will be an investigation into your circumstances. As of this moment, you will be under GusuLan’s authority until the investigation is over and you decide whether you want to become an official GusuLan disciple or a rogue cultivator. Does this meet with your approval?” Lan Xichen asked, just to make sure Wei Wuxian knew what was about to happen.

“Yes Lan Xichen, this disciple understands,” Wei Wuxian answered, starting to feel drowsy as he came down from his adrenaline rush from the stressful meeting and the receding pain from his back.

Noticing this, Lan Xichen tells him, “Sleep, we will talk more in the morning.” Lan Xichen gently pats the top of Wei Wuxian’s head as his eyes close and he falls asleep. 

___________________________________________________________________________

  
  


“Wangji, can I have a moment of your time before breakfast?” Lan Xichen asks his younger brother. 

The next morning, Lan Xichen had checked on a sleeping Wei Wuxian before he sought out his younger brother at the Jingshi to speak with him about the former YunmengJiang disciple that had claimed sanctuary. As Wangji was in charge of punishments for the disciples in Cloud Recesses, it was necessary that he was told of the change in status of Wei Wuxian.

“Mn,” his brother nodded and invited him to take a seat at the table with him.

“What I am going to tell you needs to be kept secret for the time being,” Lan Xichen began. He, of course, knew that Wangji wasn’t one to talk needlessly and about someone else, but Lan Xichen wanted to make sure Wangji knew how serious the situation was. 

  


Lan Wangji just nodded again in acknowledgment, but the question was in his eyes of what his brother needed from him.

“Last night, Wei Wuxian from YunmengJiang sect came to me and asked for sanctuary,” he paused here as he saw a glimmer of recognition in Wangji’s eyes at the mention of Wei Wuxian. “Do you remember meeting him yesterday?” Lan Xichen asked his brother.

“He waved and smiled at me yesterday,” Lan Wangji confirmed for his brother, his ears turning red.

  


Lan Xichen’s eyes widened at the flush on his brothers ears. "He is very handsome, is he not?" Lan Xichen said teasingly.

Lan Wangji didn't dignify that with an answer as he ignored his brother's words.

_ Hmm...maybe I can help my brother with his crush. Heaven knows he'll need it with his inability to communicate with anyone besides me, _ Lan Xichen muses to himself. _ It would be good for Wangji and Wei Wuxian to have friends in Gusu. _

"As I said, he claimed sanctuary and as our protocols call for, he related to me the nature of his distress and reasons for doing so." Lan Xichen again became serious about the topic at hand. "Because of this, no sort of corporal punishment is allowed to be used on Wei Wuxian. It would be highly inappropriate and would harm his trust in us to keep him safe."

And though Lan Xichen would not relay what Wei Wuxian had told him of his beatings with a whip, it didn't take long for him to see the glimmer of anger in Lan Wangji's eyes as he put together the reasoning for his brother's request.

"I understand. Any punishment he may acquire will not be physical in nature," Lan Wangji promised him.

"On a more personal note, I would be grateful if you could keep an eye out for him and perhaps help his adjustment to Cloud Recesses flow more smoothly by spending time with him. He is, from what I have noticed, a free spirit that may need guidance on how to live within a sect that lives with three thousand rules daily," Lan Xichen says this with a wry tone. It may have been a horrific tale of abuse but there were enough details of his troublemaking interspersed throughout it to see that he was a fun loving youth who would have trouble living in the confines of their sect if he didn't have help.

  


"Mn, I will help him," Wangji said this as he looked like the request was both a blessing and a curse.

  


"Thank you Wangji. The only thing left is to let Uncle know of this development. For all of his talk about what a nuisance Cangse Sanren was, I can't help but notice that it is laced with fondness. I am sure that hearing her son was being abused will be upsetting to him," Lan Xichen pondered out loud. Though he was strict, his uncle adored children and would be angry to hear that one was abused by a sect that he had much respect for.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei Wuxian has his first interaction with Lan Wangji.  
Lan Xichen meets with Lan Qiren.  
_____________________________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left feedback! The comments are all used to help me make this story!

Wei Wuxian awoke to the sound of a brush against paper and light streaming across his face. For a moment, he was confused as to where he was before the memories of the night before washed over him.

Right, he had claimed sanctuary with GusuLan. He was no longer a YunmengJiang disciple. Eventually, everyone in the cultivation world would know he had defected from the sect that had taken him in as an orphan and taught him cultivation. 

  
  


"Are you awake young master Wei?" Lan Xichen asked, interrupting his spiraling thoughts.

  
  


Wei Wuxian burrowed into the covers. "Nope, I'm still sleeping," he said before realizing who he was talking to and whose bed he had taken. He shot straight out of bed.

  
  


"I'm so sorry Lan Xichen! I didn't mean to sleep in your bed!" Wei Wuxian was panicking so much about the awkward situation, he tripped on the floor and fell on his back. Pain shot up his back and a cry of pain escaped his mouth.

  
  


Lan Xichen, seeing this, rushed over to Wei Wuxian to help him off the floor. "Wei Wuxian, are you okay? The healer said you were supposed to take it easy until you're wounds were more healed," Lan Xichen scolded him. He helped Wei Wuxian make his way to sit down at the table where breakfast was waiting for him.

  
  


"I'm fine. Still, I'm sorry for taking over your bed for the night. And thank you for granting me sanctuary here," Wei Wuxian said to him, feeling grateful again that his plea was granted. He started eating the bland meal in front of him, making sure to keep the distaste for the food off of his face.

  
  


"We are happy to have you here, young master. For now, we'll have you attend classes when they start with the rest of the disciples tomorrow. In the beginning, it's mostly all classroom instruction so you should be able to take it easy like you are  _ supposed _ to," Lan Xichen stares at him with a pleasant smile on his face, but Wei Wuxian can hear the threat in his voice.

  
  


"Ahh Haha, yes yes, this disciple will take it easy," Wei Wuxian waves off his concern.

  
  


"Good to hear. When you are done here, may I suggest visiting the Library Pavilion? We have many unique texts and scores to discover in our library," Lan Xichen seems very proud of his sect's collection of texts, as he should be. Gusu was known for their wide selection of rare and unique texts that many a cultivator would drool at the prospect of studying.

  
  


Wei Wuxian wasn't much for reading when it was so nice outside, but since Lan Xichen had suggested it and he was going to  _ try _ to take it easy for his sake, he answered, "That sounds like a great idea. I'll head over there after breakfast."

  
  


Lan Xichen nodded, "Great! Then, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with my uncle. Have a good morning."

  
  


After Lan Xichen left, Wei Wuxian finished what he could of his meal, dressed, and made his way to the Library Pavilion.

  
  


When he arrived, he instantly could smell the parchment and ink that pervaded the space. When he moved in further, he noticed there was a boy sitting at one of the tables reading. Oh, he had seen him yesterday when he was exploring Cloud Recesses.

Wei Wuxian bounced over to the boy to introduce himself.

“Hello there! I saw you yesterday! My courtesy name is Wei Wuxian, birth name Wei Ying. What’s yours?” Wei Wuxian happily asked.

The boy looked up at him with an expressionless face, but for some reason, Wei Wuxian felt like the boy was surprised. The boy responded back, “Courtesy name Lan Wangji, birth name Lan Zhan.” Then he added, “Being too loud is against the rules.”

  
  


“Ahh Haahh, I should probably learn those rules since I’ll be staying here for a while,” Wei Wuxian absently said. “Lan Xichen told me there were some unique texts here I should look at. Do you have any suggestions?”

  
  


Lan Wangji nodded, “Brother told me you would be staying with us in Gusu.”

  
  


“Ah, you are the second of the Twin Jades then. Your brother is very kind. Did he tell you anything else about me?” Wei Wuxian asked him nervously. He may have told Lan Xichen his history, but he didn’t want everyone to know about it if he could help it.

  
  


“No, he did not,” Lan Wangji said.

  
  


“Okay, great! So, those books?” Wei Wuxian asked, wanting to switch topics away from his personal problems.

  
  


“...Follow me,” Lan Wangji said as he stood up from his desk.

  
  


"So, Lan Wangji, what do you do for fun here?" Wei Wuxian asks the expressionless boy in front of him as he's lead past rows of books.

  
  


"Read, meditate," Lan Wangji answers back quietly.

  
  


"...I think you have a different idea of what fun is second master Lan. Good for you, this disciple can help show you what fun really is!" Wei Wuxian is off describing all of the things he did for fun in Yunmeng; hunting pheasants with Jiang Cheng, shopping with Jiang Yanli, shooting kites with his fellow disciples. He keeps his voice down in an effort to follow the rule about being too loud in the beginning, but as he continues, he forgets and winds up excitedly describing his experiences in his normally loud voice.

  
  


They have long since stopped at a row of bookshelves, but Wei Wuxian was so involved in his story to his audience of one that he does not notice.

  
  


"...and so you see, we should do some of these things so you can see what fun really is! Wait, are we already here? Why didn't you cut me off?" Wei Wuxian tilts his head in confusion. He's used to people cutting him off when he really gets going, even Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli will get tired of listening to him and will excuse themselves, violently in A-Cheng's case, in order to get some peace and quiet.

  
  


"Interrupting is rude," Lan Wangji pauses for a second before continuing, "and it sounded fun," he admitted.

  
  


Wei Wuxian could feel his heart skip a beat at the admission. No one ever really listened to everything he had to say before. Oh they were going to have so much fun together!

  
  


"We'll have so much fun together Lan Wangji!" Wei Wuxian says out loud, a bright smile on his face.

  
  


"Here are the texts I think you would find interesting," Lan Wangji said, not responding to his last statement.

  
  


"Thanks second master Lan!" Wei Wuxians says, and with that, Lan Wangji nods and returns to his desk.

  
  


Wei Wuxian looks through the texts and does find a few on resentful energy that interest him and the ideas he's been bouncing around in his head and carries them back to the front of the library. Pausing to look around, he sees that no one else is in there before glancing over at the desk Lan Wangji is occupying. The boy's eyes are focused on the parchment he is writing on.

  
  


For a brief moment, Wei Wuxian ponders if he should leave him alone to study in peace. But there's something magnetic about Lan Wangji's presence and he can't help but want to continue to be in the beautiful boy's space. 

  
  


So, he brings his texts over to the spot opposite Lan Wangji and plops them down on the table before making himself comfortable. When he looks up, Lan Wangji is staring at him.

  
  


He smiles and raises an eyebrow, "Yes Lan Wang-ji?"

  
  


But Lan Wangji says nothing and goes back to his work.

  
  


Satisfied, Wei Wuxian does the same.

__________________________________________

  
  


After leaving Wei Wuxian in the Hanshi to finish his breakfast, Lan Xichen makes his way to his uncle's office to speak to him about GusuLan's new ward.

  
  


Seeing his uncle at his desk, Lan Xichen bows respectfully and takes a seat across from him. 

  
  


"Lan Xichen, what news did you need to share with me about Wei Wuxian? Has he already gotten into mischief in the few hours he's been here?" Lan Qiren asks suspiciously.

  
  


"On the contrary uncle, he's been well behaved. He requested a private meeting with me last night. Wei Wuxian requested sanctuary in GusuLan and I granted it," Lan Xichen can see his uncle's face contort into a scowl at the new information.

  
  


"Why does he need sanctuary in Gusu?" His uncle asks in a dark tone.

  
  


"Wei Wuxian has been physically abused since he was ten years old. He has horrible scars on his back from a whip, Zidian to be more precise," Lan Xichen's voice is a mixture of anger and sadness as he tells his uncle the details he documented from Wei Wuxian's account.

  
  


"And Jiang Fengmian knows nothing about the abuse?" Lan Qiren asks as he strokes his beard, thinking about what he's learned.

  
  


"That is what Wei Wuxian believes, though I have difficulty believing that something that could make a cultivator bedridden for days could be overlooked by someone he calls uncle," Lan Xichen can't understand how someone so close to you could be blind to their suffering.

  
  


"Madam Yu must have something to do with hiding the abuse from her husband. I would have a hard time believing that sect leader Jiang would allow such things to happen if he knew about it," his uncle pauses as he seemingly gathers his thoughts. 

"As I've told you before, Wei Wuxian's mother is Cangse Sanren. Everyone in the cultivation world knew that Jiang Fengmian was in love with her, but Yu Ziyuan's parents arranged a betrothal agreement with Jiang Fengmian's parents when they were of marriageable age. He was not free to pursue a relationship with her because of it and Cangse Sanren married his best friend and servant Wei Changze. Ever since, there have been rumors that Wei Wuxian is Jiang Fengmian's illegitimate son, especially because there are a lot of similarities in their physical appearance. Madam Yu, I'm sure, has heard the same rumors." Lan Qiren seems to be thinking out loud.

  
  


"That is no reason to abuse a child. Rumor or no, it is not the child's fault for the mistakes of their parents," Lan Xichen's hands clench. Ever since he and Wangji were young, they too have had to deal with the burden of their own parents' choices. It makes him feel a kinship with Wei Wuxian who has had to deal with the same kind of burden and suffered the worst for it.

  
  


"No, it does not excuse what has been done to Wei Wuxian, but it may be the motivation behind it. I assume Wangji knows enough to not use corporal punishment if, I should say,  _ when _ Wei Wuxian breaks the rules?" Lan Qiren inquires of him.

  
  


"I only told Wangji it would be inappropriate to use corporal punishment on Wei Wuxian, but he seemed to understand why it would be so. Are you so sure Wei Wuxian will need to be punished?" He asks his uncle. We Wuxian seemed to be a kind hearted young man.

  
  


"If he is anything like his mother, which he seems to be, then yes, he will," and as he thought, his uncle seems to say this fondly. "Cangse Sanren must be rolling in her grave at the treatment her son has endured at the hands of Madam Yu. I'm glad his spirit isn't diminished because of it. I will, of course, start preparations for the investigation into his circumstances. We will need to be more careful and quiet about this because of his close relationships with sect leader Jiang and the sect heir. We will wait until the end of the study period for the guest disciples before we reveal his change in status to the Jiangs. Until then, we can talk to sect heir Jiang Wanyin and learn what he knows of the situation," Lan Qiren informs him.

  
  


Lan Xichen can understand this. GusuLan is essentially taking one of the best disciples the Jiang clan has, not to mention the close ties he has with the leader. This has to be handled delicately so as not to reflect badly on Gusu.

  
  


"I understand uncle. For now, I have asked Wangji to help Wei Wuxian acclimate to GusuLan. It would be great if they could make friends of each other," Lan Xichen smiles. He is tired of seeing his brother lonely.

  
  


Lan Qiren grimaces, "I suppose if anyone could tame that boy's wild spirit, it would be Lan Wangji."

  
  


"And if anyone could encourage Wangji to open up, it would be Wei Wuxian," Lan Xichen replies.

  
  


____________________________________________________________________________

  
  
  


After a few hours together in the library, Wei Wuxian said goodbye to Lan Wangji, put his texts away, and went to go find Jiang Cheng so he could update him on everything that had happened.

  
  


He found his shidi with a group of guest disciples talking to Nie Huaisang, of all people.  _ What on earth could they have in common to talk about? _ Wei Wuxian thought.

  
  


He stealthily made his way over to Jiang Cheng, who had his back to him, and Nie Huaisang and put his hands over Jiang Cheng’s eyes.

  
  


“Guess who it is!” Wei Wuxian sang out happily.

  
  


Jiang Cheng slapped the hand over his eyes away, “Knock it off Wei Wuxian, I could hear you coming a mile away.”

  
  


Wei Wuxian pouted, “Aww, A-Cheng, you're no fun.”

  
  


“Whatever, not everyone is a child like you! Now, tell me what’s going on. Did you talk to Lan Xichen?” Jiang Cheng asked with traces of worry in his expression.

  
  


Wei Wuxian sided eyed Nie Huaisang who seemed to understand that this conversation was not meant for his ears, and quickly excused himself to find different company.

  
  


“I did, last night. He documented my story and had a healer look over my wounds. He gave me sanctuary, A-Cheng,” Wei Wuxian’s voice wobbled with emotion at the end. Finally, he could be himself without the fear of punishment and pain. It still seemed like a dream, one that he was afraid would end if he did something to break the rules here as well.

  
  


“Good, that’s...good. Now you’ll be safe,” Jiang Cheng’s face had a complicated look that Wei Wuxian couldn’t begin to decipher the meaning of, but he continued on with his news anyway.

  
  


“Lan Xichen said they would be investigating my circumstances, although I’m not sure what that means,” Wei Wuxian admitted to his brother.

  
  


“It makes sense that Gusu would want to look into why a disciple is claiming sanctuary with them. They would have evidence to back up their case for taking in and claiming foreign disciples. It gives them the political and social justification to keep their reputation intact. They wouldn’t want to take in a criminal trying to escape justice or the like,” Jiang Cheng surmised.

  
  


“That makes sense I suppose. I just don’t want more people than necessary knowing what happened to me,” Wei Wuxian says, ashamed at the abuse he had lived with for the last six years.

  
  


Jiang Cheng looked him in the eyes, with a serious expression on his face, “A-Xian, what mother did to you was wrong. It wasn’t your fault. YunmengJiang will deal with whatever the consequences are from the investigation and you have Gusu to protect you now from the fallout.”

  
  


Tired of dealing with the heavy conversation, Wei Wuxian switched topics, “Thank you A-Cheng. Speaking of Gusu, you’ll never guess who I met today; Second Master Lan, Lan Wangji! We studied in the library together today!” It wasn’t the most exciting thing he’d ever done, but it had been peaceful and being in Lan Wangji’s presence had felt comfortable and safe for reasons he couldn’t understand yet.

  
  


“The Lan Wangji? Studying in the library? Were you being punished for something?” Jiang Cheng asked, confused.

  
  


“No! I was studying for fun. Okay, that sounds weird coming from me, but I really was there because I wanted to be. And Lan Wangji and I talked for a while. Well, I talked, but he listened to what I had to say Jiang Cheng. Isn’t that great?” Wei Wuxian was still delighted to have found a possible companion to spend time with who didn’t seem to mind his run away mouth.

  
  


“...Are you sure it was Lan Wangji? From what I’ve heard, he’s as aloof and as untouchable as, well, as the clouds. And, he’s in charge of discipline for Cloud Recesses. If anything, you should stay as far away from him as possible, just in case,” Jiang Cheng warned him.

  
  


“Nah, Lan Wangji was nothing like that. Don’t worry shidi, I’ll be fine!” Wei Wuxian reassured him.

“Mhm, that’s what you always say,” Jiang Cheng said as he rolled his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei Wuxian bonding with Lan Wangji and the other disciples. Unfortunate things happen.

Classes for the disciples started and Wei Wuxian's days were filled with studying and spending time with Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang. Always at the corner of his eye, he would see Lan Wangji watching their group, his face never betraying what he was thinking. Wei Wuxian wondered if he wanted to join them, but didn't know how.

So, a week after meeting him in the library, Wei Wuxian made his way over to Lan Wangji after class instead of following Jiang Cheng out the door.

"Lan Wangji," he called out to the other boy to get his attention.   
  


Lan Wangji turned to see who was asking for him. His intense golden eyes found Wei Wuxian's and it almost made him falter as he moved closer. No wonder everyone was intimidated by this young man. It felt like that gaze could see into your soul and lay bare all your secrets.

"Lan Wangji, are you busy now? Or do you want to find something to do with me, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang?

Lan Wangji stares at him without answering, so Wei Wuxian starts talking to fill the awkward silence, "It's just that I really liked talking with you in the library and I always see you watching us. I thought maybe you wanted to talk with us too and didn't know how to come up and ask us. Please say something so I stop talking."   
  


"I will come with you," Lan Wangji finally says.

"Y-you will? Okay! Then let's go meet up with the others," Wei Wuxian said excitedly.   
  


Lan Wangji nods and falls into step with him as they walk out of the classroom and towards Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang who seem confused that he didn't follow them out right away. That look morphs into surprise when they see Lan Wangji walking beside him.   
  


“Hey, Lan Wangji is joining us today!” Wei Wuxian explains to his brother and friend.

Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang glance at each other and then back at Wei Wuxian. 

“The more the merrier, but what are we doing Bro Wei?” Nie Huaisang asks.

“...I’m still working on that,” Wei Wuxian answers, “Maybe we could go hunting? I don’t know if they have pheasants around here, but we could try.”

“Killing in Cloud Recesses is forbidden,” Lan Wangji informs them.

“Yeah, which you would know if you were paying attention, idiot,” Jiang Cheng chimes in.

“Hey! I pay attention! It just slipped my mind!” Wei Wuxian says, indignant. Really, he knew all of them by heart now. He just had a bad memory sometimes. “Then, why don’t we have an archery competition?”

“That’s a good idea Bro Wei! What would we compete for?” Nie Huaisang asked.

“Ummm, a gift! I will give the winner a gift that suits them,” Wei Wuxian declared.

“Uh huh, and what happens if you win?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“Then...Then Lan Wangji will have to give me a gift that he thinks suits me!” Wei Wuxian declared. Really, he had so many good ideas! This was going to be excellent. “Does that sound good Lan Wangji?” He asks as he looks over at the silent twin jade beside him.

“Mm,” Lan Wangji nods.

“Wei Wuxian, I want in on this too,” Jin Zixuan interrupts them.

“Yes, I would like to participate as well,” Su Minshan says as he joins as well.

“Okay, now this will really be a good competition!” Wei Wuxian declares and leads the small group to the area for practicing archery.

“Bro Wei, I would rather watch than participate, so I will judge who the winner of the competition is,” Nie Huaisang offers.

“Good idea! Then we will only set up five targets. We will do three rounds and a bonus challenge round! After the four rounds, Huaisang will decide who the winner of the competition is!” Wei Wuxian declares.

“What’s the challenge round?” Jin Jixuan asks skeptically.   
  


“Don’t worry your little peacock head about it. It’s a surprise!” Wei Wuxian says.

He earns a scowl from the Jin sect heir for his response. Meh, the spoiled boy will just have to deal with it.

The disciples get the targets set up and their equipment ready. They then all stand at the same distance away from their targets.   
  


“Nie Huaisang will let us know when to go, okay Huaisang?” Wei Wuxian says.

Nie Huaisang nods, “Ready, Aim, Fire!” He shouts.

All of the disciples follow the order and release their arrows.

After all of the arrows hit the target, everyone puts their bow down and waits for Huaisang to announce the results for round one.

“Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Jin Zixuan all have bullseyes. Su Minshan and Jiang Cheng are just outside of the bullesye. So far, it is a three way tie. Participants, retrieve your arrow.” 

The disciples do as their told and take up their positions again.

“Wait, wait. Why don’t we go a little further back to make it more interesting?” Wei Wuxian suggests.

They all look at each other and agree, so they back up further from the targets and get in their ready positions again.

“Ready, Aim, Fire!” Nie Huaisang shouts again.   
  


This time, all five disciples hit their bullseyes.

They do this for one more round and then, it's the surprise bonus round.   
  


"Okay, so, at this point, Lan Wangji, Jin Zixuan, and I are tied for first, Jiang Cheng is second, and Su Minshan is in third," Wei Wuxian recaps. "Now, the surprise bonus round! Everyone has to do it blindfolded!"

Jiang Cheng yells at him, "Wei Wuxian, that's dangerous! What if someone gets hurt!?"

"We won't all shoot at the same time. We'll do it one at a time, that way it will be safer," Wei Wuxian reasons.   
  


"If you want us to do this so much, you go first," Jin Zixuan challenged him.

"Alright, I'll show you how it's done!" Wei Wuxian boasts as he winks at Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji stares for a second, then looks away. With a mischievous grin on his face, Wei Wuxian calls out to the younger jade, “Lan Wangji, I need a blindfold. Can I borrow your forehead ribbon?”

Wei Wuxian expected Lan Wangji to look at him and say "ridiculous" or "shameless." What he did not expect was for the other three disciples to look at him with scandalized expressions on their faces.

“Wei Wuxian! That is extremely inappropriate and shameless, even for you!” His brother scolds him.   
  


Wei Wuxian looks at him in confusion, “What? It’s just a ribbon Jiang Cheng. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“You-” Jiang Cheng starts, but stops when Lan Wangji holds out a piece of blue fabric to Wei Wuxian.

“Touching a forehead ribbon is forbidden,” Lan Wangji informs him, “Use this.”

Suddenly a little embarrassed, Wei Wuxian gently takes the offered piece of fabric, “Thank you Lan Wangji!” Wei Wuxian moves back to his target. He wraps the fabric around his eyes. The overwhelming scent of sandalwood fills his nose. The smell is calming to him.

“Huaisang, I’m ready,” Wei Wuxian yells with enthusiasm.

“Ready, Aim, Fire!” He hears the orders, and follows through with his shot.

Taking off his blindfold, he sees he’s hit the bullseye.

“And that, my fellow disciples, is how you do it,” Wei Wuxian boasts.

He sees something flicker across Su Minshan’s face after hearing his boast but the emotion is erased before he can guess what it is.

“I’ll go next. If you can do it, I can too,” Su Minshan says confidently.

“Fine, fine. You can go next,” Wei Wuxian agrees. Belatedly, he realizes he should hand over the cloth Lan Wangji gave him so Su Minshan can use it as a blindfold as well. He doesn’t want to.

Before he can offer up the cloth, though, Su Minshan takes out his own blue cloth and ties it around his eyes.

Close by, they can hear a bell ringing for the afternoon meal.

“Su Minshan will have to be the last one for now, since it’s time to eat,” Jiang Cheng says.

Nie Huaisang nods in agreement. “Are you ready Su Minshan?” Huaisang asks.

“I’m ready,” Su Minshan answers back.   
  


“Ready, Aim, Fir-Stop!” Nie Huaisang exclaims suddenly.

A little boy was running through the archery range, not paying attention to the competition that was happening at the moment. He seemed to be too excited to be out of classes and heading for a meal. Hearing Huaisang yell suddenly startled the child into freezing right in front of Su Minshan’s target.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t spotted by any of the older disciples until it was too late. Su Minshan had already loosed the arrow.   
  


Seeing this in what seemed like slow motion, Wei Wuxian moved as fast as his spiritual energy allowed him and he curled his body around the small boy before feeling a stabbing pain in his lower back. Trying to ignore the pangs of discomfort, he looked down at the child.

“Are you okay little one?” Wei Wuxian asked with a gentle smile on his face.

“Yes sir, I’m okay. I’m sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going,” the little boy says tearfully.

“No worries, just be more careful next time,” He lightly scolds the child before encouraging him to go eat.

And when the child is gone, he drops to to his knees as the other disciples come up to him.

“You reckless idiot, you got shot with an arrow,” Jiang Cheng’s face is right in front of him.

“Thanks for clarifying that, like I can’t feel it,” Wei Wuxian snaps back at him, “I couldn’t let the child get hurt; the arrow would have killed him. I will be fine.” He says this even as the blood is pooling around his knees.

“I will take him to the infirmary,” Lan Wangji unexpectedly offers, and before anyone can disagree, moves in front of him, bends his knees, and lifts Wei Wuxian onto his back.

The movement sends more throbbing pain down his body, but he ignores it in favor of teasing Lan Wangji. “You’re my hero Lan Wangji, but now I’m bleeding all over your pristine white robes. Blood is very difficult to clean out of clothes, I should know.”

“Ridiculous,” Lan Wangji responds and carefully, but quickly, makes the trek back to the infirmary.

“Lan Wangji, I’m going to start calling you Lan Zhan now. I’m bleeding all over you, so now we’re close, right? Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian needles his ride.

Lan Zhan seems to ignore him, however, so he just sighs and relaxes as much as he can with an arrow sticking out of his back. “I’m going to be in so much trouble, aren’t I Lan Zhan?” He says resigned.

“We are all at fault. I should have stopped you,” Lan Wangji surprisingly answers back.

“Why didn’t you?” Wei Wuxian asks, confused. Usually, Lan Zhan has no problem with keeping the disciples in line and on their best behavior.

Lan Wangji doesn’t answer back for so long, Wei Wuxian almost forgets the question he asked in the first place.

“You were having fun,” Lan Wangji finally says, very quietly.

He doesn’t say anything more and soon, they are at the infirmary. The healers show Lan Wangji where to lay Wei Wuxian down on one of the cots.

At this point, everything is feeling woozy and he decides that now would be a good time to pass out, so he does.

____________________________________________________________________________

  
  


Lan Wangji sees the moment Wei Ying passes out from blood loss and internally panics. But the healers are already dealing with it, removing his robes so they can see the wound and remove the arrow safely.

As the robes are pealed off, the scars on his back are revealed and entirely unexpected. Lan Wangji knows that Wei Ying has been granted sanctuary with Gusu. He also knows that physical discipline is not allowed to be used with the beautiful, free spirited disciple.

Now he knows why.

There are peaks and valleys of thick scars across Wei Ying’s back, all made with a whip. And if Lan Wangji had to make a guess, he would say it was made with Zidian from the looks of the healed over burns.

It made him sick in fury over the discovery. To treat a disciple like this, a member of your family like this. Wangji could not understand. This was not discipline, this was abusive punishment meant to break a person’s spirit. 

His understanding of Wei Ying’s character grew, as did his admiration of his spirit. Wei Ying may have bent under the abuse he had been through, but he did not break. It made Wangji want to stay by his side so he could keep this person safe from anymore pain. 

He was sure Wei Ying would not have wanted him to see his scars like this. The smiling boy would not have wanted his secrets laid bare for someone he did not know well. Lan Wangji would keep his discovery of Wei Ying's scars to himself for now and hope that the boy who held his heart would one day confide his painful secrets to him.

Seeing that the healers had everything in hand and were not overly worried about the damage the arrow had caused, Lan Wangji left the infirmary to change out of his robes and then to search out his brother. He found him at his desk working on paperwork.

“Ah, Wangji, I heard there was a commotion in the archery range. Do you know what happened?” Lan Xichen asked concerned.

“I think Uncle should also be present for my recounting of events,” Lan Wangji told him. Lan Qiren needed to know what happened since all involved in the incident were sect heirs.

“Uncle should be in his office. I will follow you over there,” Lan Xichen looked even more concerned now, but did rise to follow his brother. Lan Wangji was sure his face was expressionless as ever, but his brother could always read what emotions were stirring inside of him. It was reassuring and annoying at the same time.

They quickly made their way to their uncle’s office. There, Wangji recounted his story to them both. He knew how his uncle was going to react to it and was prepared to take punishment for the almost tragic event that took place.

“Wangji, I expected better from you. Why did you not stop the disciples from accepting the blindfold challenge?” His uncle asked him.

Wangji was in no way prepared to tell his uncle of his crush on the new ward of Gusu. And, it was against the rules to lie. So, he settled on saying nothing at all. Thankfully, his socially capable brother chimed in to help him with his uncle.

“Perhaps Wangji was having fun with the other disciples and did not know how to step in and stop their competition without alienating them?” Lan Xichen suggested, with a knowing look in his eyes.   
  


Did he mention how annoying it was that his brother could read him like an open book? But if it helped him with an explanation for his uncle, he wouldn’t complain. Not that he did that anyway.

“Be that as it may, all of the disciples involved will need to be disciplined for endangering a fellow disciple, including you Wangji. Normally, the paddle would be involved for an infraction such as this, but it is not an option for Wei Wuxian,” Lan Qiran said, contemplating the situation. “We don’t want it to look like he’s being given special treatment by not getting the paddle.”

“Uncle, if I may, Wei Wuxian has been punished physically already by the incident since he was pierced by the arrow while keeping a Lan child safe. Why not make it his punishment to help the caretakers with the Lan children during his free time?” Lan Xichen thought this would also be a good way for him to meet more people from the Lan clan and to become more comfortable with staying with them.

“That’s not a bad idea. Then he won’t have time to get into trouble if he’s busy taking care of the children. It will need to be impressed upon him to be responsible and careful with the children, however. Lan Xichen, please inform the guest disciples what their punishment is and that it will take place tomorrow,” Lan Qiren dictates. “Wei Wuxian will be informed of his punishment when he is recovered enough to begin his new duties.”

"Yes uncle, I will take care of it," Lan Xichen agreed. "Is there anything else Wangji?"

"When I brought Wei Wuxian to the infirmary, they stripped his robes off before I left. I saw his scars, brother," Lan Wangji confessed.

"Then, you know why he needs to be protected. Wangji, I do not think young master Wei would be happy to know that you know his secret. He seems like a free spirit, but he is vulnerable from his past trauma. Don't treat him any differently now that you know. Just be a good friend to him and maybe he will confide in you one day," Lan Xichen advises him. He is grateful his brother his trying to help him navigate a difficult topic, but Wangji already knows this. He knows he needs to build trust and a relationship with Wei Ying so he could help the boy bare the burden he has been carrying.

"I will be there for Wei Ying," Lan Wangji promises.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Consequences of the archery incident. Lan Xichen discusses Wei Wuxian's past with Jiang Wanyin.

Wei Wuxian found himself waking up to the smell of medicinal herbs, laying on an unfamiliar cot. A few seconds passed by before he realized that he was in the infirmary. The pang of discomfort reminded him why he was here in the first place. 

“Wei Wuxian, how do you feel?” Looking to his left, he could see the face of Lan Xichen giving him a concerned look.

“I feel like I was shot by an arrow. Oh, wait, I was, haahaa. Too soon?” Wei Wuxian teased the elder jade.

“If you're already making jokes, then you must be feeling decent,” Lan Xichen smiled at him, reassured. “Your brother and Wangji would have been here to greet you upon your waking, but they are, unfortunately, busy with their punishments along with Nie Huaisang, Su Minshan, and Jin Zixuan.”

“Punishments?” Wei Wuxian asked, confused.

“For the endangerment of a child,” Lan Xichen clarified.

“Master Lan, the incident was my fault. I should have been more careful. The other disciples didn’t really want to do it,” Wei Wuxian tried to explain to the older boy.

Lan Xichen frowned at him, “Young Master Wei, none of the other disciples blamed you for the incident. They were quite willing to own up to their punishment for the near tragedy.”

“They did?” Now Wei Wuxian was confused again. He was used to being blamed for the bad things that happened around him and being punished, physically for it. To think that others were willing to step in and take blame for it was...different.

“Yes, the others, especially Nie Huaisang, felt like they should have been more aware of the child on the field. With that said, you were also given a punishment for the situation, but we will not burden you with it until you are fully recuperated,” Lan Xichen informed him.

Okay, that sounded a little ominous. Maybe he would be getting a thrashing for this. After all, Gusu was known for their discipline and that included physical discipline as well. He hadn’t felt the sting of a whip in almost two weeks._ Aaahhh well, it was good while it lasted. At least my body has healed from the last time I was whipped; that’s more than I could have wished for. _

To Lan Xichen, he just nodded in understanding, “That’s fair. Is the child doing alright?”

“Lan Yann is doing just fine. He was a little shaken up from the near miss. He asked after you and wanted to see you again, if you are agreeable,” Lan Xichen said with a smile. “Also, on behalf of GusuLan, I wanted to thank you for stepping in to protect him. Even uncle was impressed with you stepping in to save the child.”

“Teacher Qiren? He’s never impressed with me,” Wei Wuxian said in disbelief.

“Mn, he took in the fact that you kept the child safe into consideration for your punishment,” Lan Xichen reassured him.

“Okay…” Wei Wuxian still did know how to respond to that. “Thank you for coming to see me Lan Xichen.”

“It wasn’t a problem Wei Wuxian. You are our responsibility now. Your safety and happiness are important to us,” Lan Xichen explained to him.

Wei Wuxian felt himself blush a bit at this, “You can call me A-Xian, Lan Xichen. Shijie and Uncle Jiang used to call me that.” He frowned at this thought, “I’m going to miss them, Shijie especially. She was more like a mother to me than anyone else.” Great, now he was feeling sad for himself, but he really did view his Shijie as a mother/sister figure. She was the one who would cook for him, bandage his wounds, and sing him to sleep when he was growing up.

“Then you can call me brother, A-Xian. I will look out for you in your Shijie’s place,” Lan Xichen said gently.

“Xichen-ge, are you sure?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“I’m sure A-Xian," Lan Xichen assured him.

“So, when can I leave the infirmary?” Wei Wuxian questioned. He was glad to be getting the care he needed, but he was not made to stay still for long periods of time.

“The healer was waiting for you to wake up and to do one more check up. Then you are allowed to leave and finish healing in your dorm. Once again, you need to take it easy for at least a week,” and again, elder brother stressed the take it easy part.

“Yes, yes, I will,” Wei Wuxian agreed.

____________________________________________________

A couple of hours later, Wei Wuxian made his way to the magnolia tree outside the library pavilion. He felt like he’d spent too much time cooped up inside, but didn’t really have the energy to do more. Making himself comfortable against the trunk of the tree, he closed his eyes intending to take another nap.

“Wei Wuxian!”

At this yell, his eyes snapped open. Coming towards him with an angry look on his face was Su Minshan.

“Wei Wuxian, what do you think you’re doing out here, lounging against a tree! Go take your punishment like the rest of us!” Su Minshan was now standing over him, looking down at him, sneering.

“No worries, no worries. This disciple will be punished after I’m healed,” Wei Wuxian laughed it off, hoping the other would go away so he could start his nap.

“So, you're too weak to handle the paddle then? Getting special treatment now, are you? I’ve heard Sect Leader Jiang Fengmian treats you better than he does his own son. Now the Lan clan is doing the same, huh? Just what kind of _ favors _ are you doing to get such treatment, Wei Wuxian?” Su Minshan ranted at him.

_ I’m not going to start a fight, I’m not going to start a fight. _His hands clenched at his sides as the words washed over him, the tone and hurtful barbs reminiscent of Madam Yu’s own verbal lashings.

“It’s your fault we got into trouble in the first place and now you're being a coward about taking you're punishment. So much for the disciples of YunmengJiang,” and with that last parting shot, Su Minshan turned his back on him and started walking away.

Wei Wuxian stood up. “I didn’t know the disciples of Lan were children who can’t handle punishments for their own actions. Will seeing me being punished make you feel better?”

“It will show you can take your punishment like everyone else. Or do you think you're better than the rest of us?” Su Minshan looked behind at him.

Clenching his hands again, Wei Wuxian started walking towards the building where punishments were met out. “Then I don’t want to hear another word about this after I’m done, yes?” He said.

“As long as you get what you deserve, then that’s fine,” Su Minshan said and continued on his way.

Angry and embarrassed at the harassment from Su Minshan, Wei Wuxian also continued on his way to receive his punishment for the trouble he had caused the clan that had so willingly granted him a safe haven. It was the least he could do, afterall.

Walking over to a Lan clan member, he presented himself to them. “I’m here to receive the same punishment Su Minshan and the other disciples received for the archery incident yesterday.”

The clan member looked at him confused, “We have already punished all of the disciples involved in that incident as Lan Qiren had informed us.”

“Then you must be mistaken as I was also involved. I would like to get my punishment over with,” Wei Wuxian insisted again.

“The punishment the others received were 50 swings of the paddle, please take your position on the floor,” the Lan member told him.

As he was told, he took a kneeling position and braced himself for the impact of the paddle. The first swing struck his back and it took all of his concentration to not collapse at the feel of it. _ Oh, yeah, my wound. This is going to be worse than I thought. Elder brother Lan is not going to be happy with me. _

He continued to put all of his effort into maintaining his position as his punishment continued. _ 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… _

All of a sudden, the swinging stopped when he heard a voice call out, “Stop!”

Wei Wuxian turned around in surprise at hearing the command come from Lan Zhan off all people. His body, however, was uncooperative and he fell to his hands to stabilize himself from falling over. Really, he shouldn’t be this weak!

Lan Zhan walked over to him at a brisk pace. “What are you doing? His punishment was not the paddle nor was he supposed to be punished before he was recovered.” 

“Master Lan, he came to us and insisted that this was his punishment and that he wanted it done,” the clan member defended himself.

Lan Zhan was now standing next to him, “Wei Ying, you are not well enough to be out of bed, let alone taking punishment from the paddle. This is not how uncle wanted you punished.” 

Wei Wuxian looked up at him as he shifted back onto his knees, “This disciple was just getting what he deserved for the trouble he has caused.”

Lan Zhan gave him a piercing look before bending over and pulling him up into a princess carry.

“Whoa whoa, Lan Zhan! Put me down! I’ll walk, I’ll walk!” He protested.

Lan Zhan just gave him another look, before ignoring his protests and started carrying him towards his dorm room.

"Why were you there taking punishment?" Lan Zhan suddenly asked him.

"Ah that might be because Su Minshan informed me that the rest of the disciples were punished with the paddle and insinuated that I was doing sexual favors for special treatment," Wei Wuxian confessed to him.

The hands that were gently holding him tightened.

"Not special treatment. You were already physically harmed by the incident. Your punishment is to help take care of the Lan children when not in classes or studying,” Lan Zhan told him.

“That doesn’t sound like punishment; that sounds like fun,” Wei Wuxian protested again.

Lan Zhan looked down at him, his eyes seemed to soften at his response, “Not everyone feels that way about children.”

“Shijie and I used to say that XianXian is three so I’ll be in good company!” Wei Wuxian was excited to help care for the children. Kids were fun to play with and were very cuddly and easy to love. Though, it still made him feel a bit guilty when the rest of the disciples were paddled for the same incident and he was not supposed to be.

“I understand that I was hurt, but I still don’t understand why my punishment would be different from the others?” If anything, he more than anyone else would have the pain tolerance to deal with the physical discipline. The only reason it had affected him so badly minutes earlier was because he was recently injured.

It took Lan Zhan a few minutes to answer his question and by that time, they had finally arrived at his dorm room. Wei Wuxian helped open the door for Lan Zhan who still didn’t seem to want to put him down, so he poked Lan Zhan’s cheek, “Lan Zhan, you can put me down now, I can take care of myself from here.”

Lan Zhan carefully put Wei Wuxian down, but didn’t let go fully until he was sure Wei Ying was steady on his feet.

“You asked brother for sanctuary. Brother told me physical punishment would be inappropriate to be used on you," and that was all Lan Zhan would say about the decision for his punishment.

_ Does he know? _But there was no way he would be able to read Lan Zhan to know and he didn't want to ask. So, he pushed the thought away and instead went back to teasing his favorite of the twin jades. "Lan Zhan, that's the second time in two days you've carried me. If you keep spoiling me like this, everyone is going to think you like me." 

As he watches Lan Zhan for any hint of a reaction to what he's said, he notices that the boy who shows no emotion on his face has the reddest ears he's ever seen. _ That's adorable! He's blushing on his ears! _

Lan Zhan doesn't respond otherwise to his teasing. Instead, the stoic boy excuses himself after making sure he is tucking himself into bed.

__________________________________________

Lan Xichen has not had the time to discuss Wei Wuxian's circumstances with Jiang Wanyin with all of the extra work that comes with settling in all of the guest disciples into Cloud Recesses. Now, however, he can start to focus more on Wei Wuxian's case and gathering testimony and information to be used to keep their newest, secret, disciple safe when the time comes for the reveal.

He finds the Jiang sect heir studying in the library pavilion. "Sect heir Jiang Wanyin, could I have a moment of your time?"

The Jiang heir looks up at him in surprise before fixing his face back into neutrality. “Zewu-jun, yes, you can. What can I do for you?”

Lan Xichen took a seat across from the younger man. “I wanted to talk to you about Wei Wuxian’s experiences growing up with your family.”

Jiang Wanyin scowled back at him, “You want to know about the whippings.”

"I want your side of the story. The more evidence and testimony we have, the stronger our position will be when the cultivation world learns that GusuLan has, in their eyes, stolen a very strong and talented disciple from the YunmengJiang sect. And, who everyone knows, is loved by sect leader Jiang as a second son. As his son by blood and future sect leader, your words will have more weight than most," Lan Xichen has seen Jiang Wanyin interact with his brother and knows that the sect heir was a part of the plan to help Wei Wuxian receive sanctuary with GusuLan. He respects the young man for making the hard decision to save his brother over the damaged reputation of YunmengJiang sect that will happen when the scandal comes to light. As he is a brother himself, he cannot say he would have done any differently if Wangji had been in the same situation. Lan Xichen has always put the needs of his brother before himself.

"I call Wei Wuxian my little brother because of how he acts. In truth, he is older than me by half a year. I first met him when my father brought him home when I was almost six years old. He was a little waif of a thing with injuries and sores all over his body from malnutrition and stray dog attacks. Father told me he was my brother and that we would become great friends," he grimaces as he remembers his thoughts on the matter at the time. "I resented Wei Ying because father always seemed to treat him like he was the most important person to him. It wasn't until I was ten that any resentment I still had over the attention he received from my father completely left me."

"Wei Wuxian said that the punishments started when he was ten. Can you describe what you think started the whipping?" Lan Xichen asks gently.

"We had started to cultivate our golden cores at this point, so I think that was a part of it. Wei Ying has always been more talented than myself in everything he does: archery, swordplay, talismans, coursework. The first time he was whipped was after a training session between the two of us where I lost to him. My mother was in charge of it and she berated me for losing to the son of a servant and that I would bring shame to the sect if I did not do better. I was dismissed and Wei Ying had to follow my mother as she said she needed to discuss something with him," Jiang Wanyin stops here and seems to need to collect himself before continuing.

"When I saw him a few hours later, he was in his room, laying on his stomach. He was crying quietly while his back was covered in blood. I ran over to him to ask what happened. He tried to lie to me, but, in the end, he told my that my mother had punished him for thinking himself above us, for thinking he was a part of our family. He was told he was not allowed to go to the healers for his injuries and that he would be punished again if he tried to tell someone about his punishment. I didn't know what to do, so I went to find my sister for help. Between the two of us, we were able to sneak supplies out of the infirmary so we could clean and bandage his wounds. After Wei Ying fell asleep, my sister and I went to our mother and threatened her that we would tell father of Wei Ying's punishment or she would let us take care of Wei Ying's wounds with no interference. She was livid at us but she agreed. She was not afraid of others finding out about his punishments, but was unsure about father's reaction if he found out," Jiang Wanyin let out a sigh.

"That was the first of many more sessions between my brother and my mother. Wei Ying was sometimes bedridden because his wounds would get infected from improper care and being torn open again. My sister and I did the best we could but we were children. We got better as we aged and with practice. We would ask the healers for tips on wound care and tell them it was out of curiosity and wanting to know how to take care of ourselves if we got into trouble. Father never seemed to suspect anything was wrong." The sect heir stops and stares at the table, lost in thought.

Lan Xichen asks, "Why did Wei Wuxian decide to ask GusuLan for sanctuary? What made him try to escape his abuse?"

Jiang Wanyin takes a few moments to think before he answers, "Wei Ying has always been good at masking his pain behind smiles and laughter. No one else noticed but my sister and I that the light in his eyes was growing dimmer and his body was not handling the six years of harsh abuse well. He was sick more often than before. We had just received the invitation from Gusu to learn from your sect when Wei Ying was punished particularly harsh. He finally opened up to us that he was afraid he wasn't going to be around for long if he stayed with us. I told him about GusuLan's sanctuary and he agreed to talk to you about taking him in. We both told him that we did not care how it would reflect upon YunmengJiang's reputation if he defected. Only that his safety and happiness was more important. I don't know what the repercussions will be when I come home without my brother, but I know it will be worth it to see him safe and happy."

"I think you made the right choice young master Wanyin. As a brother myself, Wangji's safety and happiness are something I take seriously. Gusu will do it's best to not let the consequences affect Wei Wuxian when his defection comes to light," Lan Xichen promises the young man in front of him.

Jiang Wanyin nods his head, "Thank you Zewu-jun. If there is ever anything the YunmengJiang sect can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask me."

"I will keep that in mind, sect heir Jiang," Lan Xichen nods in appreciation for the sentiment.


End file.
